a painter´s attempt to conquer the great white canvas

The Changing Seasons – July 2018

Although Germany didn´t even make it into the final sixteen of this year´s World Championship (having won it last time definitely added to the shame), people still had fun watching or playing football themselves.

Though it sometimes looks a bit different from what you might be used to… 😉

Bubble-football in a park (July 2018)

Bubble-football in a park (July 2018)

Taking a break involves getting out of the bubbles first which seemed to be even more difficult than running around in them (July 2018)

And there are even more things to admire in my near-by park, like the growth of all kinds of fruits and nuts.

Last year I gathered some of the walnuts, but although I always want to, I never seem to come around to pick the elderberries from which you can make a wonderful juice. If you haven´t tried them before: never eat them raw!! They need to be cooked unless you want to poison yourself and risk stomach pains and diarrhoea!

Walnut tree (July 2018)

Unripe elderberries (July 2018)

If you want to stay on the safe side, forgo the elderberries and make some pesto instead! It´s one of my favourite summer recipes and actually quite easy to make.

All you need is some basil leaves (this time I had to use parsley because my basil still needed to recover from the last reaping, but it tastes just as good), parmesan or pecorino cheese, pine nuts (I always toast them slightly before for a stronger flavour), fresh garlic (try to avoid the dried garlic when you want to prevent bad breath) and good-qualitiy olive oil. Use pepper and salt to your likening, though both aren´t strictly necessary.

Ingredients for making pesto (July 2018)

Pesto (July 2018)

Another thing which is quite easy to make once you´ve put your mind to it, is sourdough bread.

It´s not only better tasting than the stuff you can buy at the supermarket but also much healthier.

Just google sourdough starter and you´ll find all kinds of recipes that will help you making your own one. Oh, and once you do, don´t forget to give it a name, that´s supposed to help. Mine is called Jon Snow after the character in Game of Thrones. 😉

Sourdough ready to go into the oven (July 2018)

Sourdough bread (July 2018)

And for those of you who were curious about the earrings I made out of clay a little earlier in the year – those “sadly” were all sold at a local market before I got the chance to take some pictures.

But I did keep a few for myself:

Little foxes (July 2018)

Clay earrings (July 2018)

Clay earrings (July 2018)

And I also love making costume jewellery from other materials as well, like felt and feathers:

Felt and feather earrings (July 2018)

Felt earrings (July 2018)

But from time to time I need a little break from all that creating, and what could be better than a bit of chocolate for that… 😉

Chocolate notepad and pencils with a message (bought during my first Artist´s Date – a concept developed by Julia Cameron, author of the book “The Artist´s Way”; July 2018)

And here are the guidelines for The Changing Season if you’re interested in participating:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month

Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

This felt like a comfort-post, just full of smiles, Sarah. I love the bubble football. Ha ha. And you put me in the mood for some pesto tonight (I have to head to the garden) and those clay earrings are gorgeous, exactly something that I would pick out. I have two scoby (kombucha) mothers that I’ll have to name… Aria and Sansa. 🙂

I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, Diana! The bubble football was such fun to watch and how lovely I inspired you to make some pesto – I’m sure was scrumptious.
And how awesome you make your own kombucha! I’ve been playing around with the idea – is it easy to make? And calling them Aria and Sansa is a brilliant idea! 😄

I did make pesto and it got top ratings from the husband. I’m a terrible cook and he actually asked if he could take the leftovers to work! 🙂 Kombucha is easy to make and healthy. I ordered organic scoby’s from Amazon and they worked great.

Oh so cool, Sarah, I would play this football for sure 🙂
Your pesto looks so attractive! I think you gave me idea of a new project 😉
I don’t think it is Elderberry, Sarah. Sambucus nigra hints on the black color of berries. Also the shape of the leaves is different. I would say it is a Viburnum bush. We have them growing along the rivers. Wouldn’t eat them raw neither. I think Viburnum berries are used in pastries.
Have a happy week!

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Inese! And I think you’re spot on with the berries. I had another look in the park and the elderberry bush is right next to it! 😁
Wish you lots of fun with the pesto making! Bon appétit! 😄 xxxxxxxx

What a fun post, dear Sarah. Are you sure it are even elderberries? The leaves look different. Ah and pesto, made it myself many times before 🙂 Do you happen to have a tip to get the bread out of the oven without turning into a stone? My breads, with our without steam, lately always seem to turn into a brick 😦

Thank you, Patty! I think you might be right and I accidentally shot the wrong plant! 😂 Ah well, with these temperatures who could blame me. 😉 lovely 38 degrees in the shade yesterday and today not much better.
As to the bread – I sometimes have that problem as well though only with yeast bread never with sourdough. Don’t have a clue why though…

I’ve never heard of Bubble-football before and your pics made me smile. I just love your earrings. The fox and feather are cute but the clay ones are my favourites. They must be heavy though. You are such a versatile artist Sarah. I never know what I will find each time I visit your blog… There is always a beautiful surprise waiting for me. xoxo

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Dominique!
The fox earrings are also made of clay, I forgot to mention it in the caption. And the pendants made of clay are actually not as heavy as you might think. After firing the clay all the water is evaporated and so they don’t weigh as much as before. And thanks to the glaze they are cool to the touch which is nice in summer – there’s a horrible heatwave here at the moment with temperatures of 38 and more degrees!!! Too hot to blog actually – lol! 😂 xoxo 💕

Thank you for the details. I really thought that these earrings were heavy. In this case the phrase A picture is worth a thousand words is not exactly right. It took your explanations to show me my mistake. They are indeed very pretty. I hope the heatwave is gone by now.

Wow, so much here to comment on:
– I also make pesto. My wife grows basil and I add the garlic, parmesean cheese and olive oil. Too many people here have nut allergies, so I omit the nuts.
-The bubble football…I think with the rate of head injuries in our football league (American football, not soccer) we should play this way. Catching teh ball will be a challenge, but wheat the heck…no more brain damage.
-The earrings are cute. Nice work.
The chocolate pencils…adorable. Do they sell in the US for some of my students and teacher friends?
Cheers

Thanks so much, Chris! Isn´t pesto great? You can also eat it with bread or as someone told me with a nice BBQ. I´ve never tried it without the nuts but sometimes forgot to add the garlic and it tasted great anyway so I think a nutless version is just as good too.
Yeah, definitely less head injuries when American Football would be played in bubbles! 😉 Would also make for a much funnier game!
I bought the choc pad and the pencils in a shop called “Tiger”, it´s a swedish one I believe, and I wouldn´t be surprised if you could find them in the US as well, just like Ikea. 😉
Have a wonderful Sunday! Cheers!

Those bubbles look fun and interesting, Sarah, but also a bit claustrophobic. 🙂 Loved the photos, though, along with the walnuts and elderberries. Everything looks so yummy, the bread and pesto (a favorite). And your earrings are beautiful. What talent you possess, my friend! Hope you have a great weekend! Much love! ❤🌻🍑🍊🥑

I think I might make a post about it sometime soon, as I am supposed to have one each week. 🙂 This one really was so much fun, first I went to a garden center and then to this cute little shop where they sell kitch and stuff. 😉

About making sourdough in winter. I’m not much of a cook, but I think you can warm the oven to about 200 degrees, turn it off, then put the dough inside to proof it. There must be an article on line to tell you how to do this.

I could not do anything in those bubbles. Too claustrophobic! Our temps are that high here and going almost to triple digits by Sunday. 97 degrees! It’s been ongoing with no breaks. I love what you found on your first Artists date! The pencils are wonderful and the choc notepad. How fun! The homemade pesto and bread look scrumptious and are making me hungry. I have to feed my daughter dinner tonight but I will not be baking as we are baking without the oven. ;( Maybe next month I can try it. It’s wonderful that your handcrafted earrings sold out! I think I need to get busy doing something useful as well. Have a wonderfilled weekend!

I wouldn´t wear any of these bubbles either but it´s definitely fun to look at. 😉
Extremely hot around here too, I swear past midday I´m not able to think properly because of it! Try to get everything done before that. The worst thing is, is that it doesn´t cool down at night.
And I´m so glad you like the choc pad and the pencils too, I was hoping you would. 🙂
No baking from me either in this heat, it´s just unbearable. Hope dinner with your daughter was lovely and that you spent a great time toghether, Marlene!
Have a wonderfilled weekend too, my friend!

Oh my goodness, my super-talented friend, what a creative, productive month you have had. Both the pesto and your bread look so delicious and your earrings are beautiful. I’m so glad they sold at the market; I can see how they would be really popular.
I was wondering about the wisdom of playing bubble football too, given what you’ve said about how hot it is. But the game does seem strangely appealling. The last time I was even near a football field (watching the boy-child) I got smacked in the face by the ball. Perhaps if I’m called upon to watch another game I could do bubble spectating. 🙂 xxxxxxxx

Thank you very much, Su, coming from you who is uber-talented yourself that means a lot to me!
I was surprised how well the earrings sold and wished I´d made more! Well, next time. 😉
Oh poor you! I once got smacked by a volleyball which was no fun either. Fortunately that was back in the days when I didn´t had to wear glasses. And my mum once got smacked too whilst sunbathing at a lake – her nose was broken 3 times!! So when I see balls now I get very cautious, and kind of wish for a bubble too. 😉 xxxxxxxxx

😀 I’m sure you can sell lots of earrings. They are beautiful, and something one can never own too many pairs of.
Your poor mum; the ball must have been hit/kicked very hard. I feel fortunate to have escaped with just a red, stinging cheek.

Hello Sourdough sister! Oh my God! You and Jon Snow did good, that bread looks phenomenal!❤️ And I love all your pictures, especially the one of the elderberries! Wishing you a beautiful August as well, hope to see more breads☺️☺️ hugs & kisses

Hi Divya! Thanks so much! 😀 ❤ I´m still surprised myself how easy making the sourdough was! Though I´m not quite sure what happens when winter is coming! LOL! 😉 Heard from another blogging friend that she bought an electric blanket to keep it warm. Do you have any tips how to handle sourdough in the cold?
Wishing you a stunning August too! Hugs&kisses! 😀 ❤

No no don’t worry, there should be no problem:) in winter, I try to maintain a steady warm temp at home, and the even when the heater is not on, the starter is quite resistant! It may take longer for the cycle to complete but it will survive:)

Sarah, you domestic, artistic GODDESS!! The pesto looks divine and the loaf a lesson in leavening love! Elder Berries really do need to be black before we pick them but you are right – their juice is wonderful. I also make a pudding using apples, pears and elderberries – a version of summer pudding but as it is normally made in September I call it Autumn Pud instead. I use the flowers to make cordial – all hail (almost) free food! And I want to play bubble football. I can just feel the joy and laughter emitting from your pictures. All in all a lovely meander through a good month. I think I should try to join in the challenge next month. Something has to lift this wretched blogging malaise sooner or later. I hope all is well with you, that your Mother is well recovered and that you are enjoying the sunniest of sunny summers and much joy and delight in the long warm days xxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh, Fiona, don´t make me blush! It´s far too hot here right now for that! LOL! 😉 Your autumn pud sounds wonderful and since it´s so hot here I wouldn´t mind a bit of autumn, even if it only comes in form of dessert. 😉
And I love elderberry cordial! Never made it myself though. And you´re so right: all hail to (almost) free food! I often think that fruit you´ve picked yourself taste so much better, last example for this simple truth was two weeks ago when I happened to stumble upon a fig tree!! Only picked a few but man were they delicious! 😀 And since we´ve had so much sunshine the last months I´m so not suprised that the thrived here.
It would be so, so lovely if you´d join the Changing Seasons! I can already see the wonderful pictures you´d contribute in my mind!
All is well with my mum and me, thank you! She´s just had an angiogramm made in the hospital two days ago (not a funny experience she said as it hurt like hell and was totally scary) and they´ve discovered that she´s suffering from arteriosclerosis too but that with the right medication and a change in her diet she should be allright.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend and don´t beat yourself up because of the blogging malaise, the right post will come to you when you feel like it! In the meantime simply enjoy summer and all it has to offer! Much love! xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Free food is the best. I love foraging and figs would be bootie indeed!!! I think you in Europe are getting mighty heat this year. Over here it is business as usual … when it is hot it is very very hot and when it rains it pours … I love the heat but the rain when it comes (as it did yesterday) is welcome even if it has failed to clear the humidity. I am glad your mum has had the angiogram though I am sorry it was so painful and scary. But now they know and can treat her with the right meds and she can adapt her lifestyle to augment the process. I hold you both in my thoughts. And I won’t beat myself up but it is frustrating. Have a wonderful weekend and take it easy in the heat xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ah, rain! I´ve heard of a phenomenon like this but can´t remember where and when. 😉
No, honestly, last time it rained (about two weeks ago), I really didn´t know what that sound was at first, then looked out of the window and thought I was hallucinating! 😀 It hadn´t rained in over 4 months!!
Have a beautiful weekend and maybe take your camera with you for some inspiration blogging wise. 😉 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks so much, Jill! It was so much fun watching them play and I also wondered how they were able to breathe! Or even run with their arms so tight against their bodies. But they did fall over each other quite a lot too which was funny to watch. 😉❤

Thanks so much, Darren!
When I did those shots it was a mere 26 degrees but I can’t imagine running around in them was any more pleasant than it would be now.
It was much nicer watching them, especially when they bumped into each other and fell over! 😂

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